Victoria Secret - Competitors

“Savage X Fenty show has just started and I can already tell that this lingerie brand is going to kick Victoria’s Secret’s butt. Strong athletic women, no silly headdresses or diamond bras. And the collection will be for sale online the minute the show ends,” tweeted the journalist Christina Binkley

“The show was raw. We were all half-naked skin, bones, rolls, curves, scars and stretch marks 100 per cent out for the world to see. In confidence, power and unity we were able to be unapologetically ourselves, Personally, I usually really don’t like doing shows, they always make me feel like I have to put on a face and a walk that doesn’t feel like mine. But this one was so special because I felt like me. Everyone was so different, and all looked equally amazing. Most of the time in fashion, diversity feels like it’s more about hitting a quota. But this show was different: it was organic, and it came from a place of love.” -says the model Jazzelle Zanaughtti   talking about the Savage X Fenty catwalk 2018 she walked in. Through research of the lingerie market and what the consumer wants I can tell this opinion is the not only the voice of this model but also of a lot of women who fall into the market audience for Victoria Secret. Only more recently has it been brought to our attention by brands like Aerie, Savage X Fenty and Asos that having the "perfect body" doesn't mean being skinny and 5'10.

" Enter Rihanna. Not content with merely shaking up a beauty market that seemed committed to ignoring non-white women, she’s now Fenty-fying our underwear drawers. She’s spotted the gap in the market for underwear that doesn’t equate female excellence with a penchant for goji berries and 5am starts to get to the gym. Her Savage x Fenty show, presented during New York Fashion Week, was a festival of flesh of all different skin tones. There were curves and stretchmarks, sagging stomach and six-packs, love handles and super ‘fupas’ (thanks again, Beyoncé) and enormous pregnant bellies - quote from a vogue article “how Rihannas savage Fenty is changing the lingerie game’’ - https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/rihanna-fenty-is-changing-the-lingerie-game

“Research from the University of Sussex in England, published in 2004 in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, found that ultra-thin models made women feel worse about how they looked, but that women were not more likely to buy products from companies whose ads featured those models,” writes Elizabeth Olson.

When Aerie Lingerie came onto the secene in 2014 (branding from there parent company American Eagle) they sent out a strong message straight away about body positivity stating they would not use photoshop and vowed to portray models in their campaigns of all different body sizes. The public response was extremely positive and boosted American eagles dismal sales through the roof. The brand started a new hashtag on their instagram page called #AerieReal which was a huge success and on the back of the #AerieReal success (to coincide with eating disorder awareness week) Aerie released another campaign called #AerieSupports which featured British size 14 model Iskra Lawrence. They designed and sold a t-shirt that said  “strong, beautiful, me”.

The shirt sold out and 100% of the profits went to the National Eating Disorder Association, which is a non-profit that supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders, and helps prevention, cures and access to quality care.

Other alternative Brands I've found through research:

• Savage x Fenty
• Les girls les boys
• Nubian skin 
• Reformation 
• Svala
• Moonbird
• Naja
• Ayten Gasson
• Underprotection
• Use Surana